by Shian Jeen
Not a single one of the Yelu Family disciples noticed Huwang Xiao’s disappeared from where he previously stood. The Water God’s Halberd in his hand emitted a ruthless gleam as it immediately cut through a mid-Second Order Highgod Realm disciple’s head. With a turn of his wrist, he directed the vertical cut sideways, slashing an early Second Order Highgod Realm disciple.
Several soul force swords quickly flew out from Huwang Xiao’s body after that. With current soul force, Huwang Xiao could form more than a hundred soul force swords at the same time.
Over a hundred swords decimated Yelu Xin and the remaining disciples.
On the Aeon Square, the ranking list’s 2,945th ranking glimmered brightly as Huwang Xiao’s name replaced the previous one.
Ch.853
Just like before, even though Huwang Xiao’s name appeared on the ranking list, it did not gain any attention. Most of the people on the square were mainly focused on the top one hundred of the ranking list, and there were some who also looked at the top one thousand from time to time.
Whereas the Azure Dragon Institute Grand Elder named Wang Hong glanced at the bottom of the ranking list more frequently than any other people on the square. Although Ceng Chu and the others claimed it was a hallucination when he saw Huwang Xiao’s name on the 3,000th place, Wang Hong wasn't convinced.
However, for the next few days, Huwang Xiao’s name did not appear again at the bottom. This caused Wang Hong to doubt himself; did he, perhaps, saw wrongly?
Just as Wang Hong retrieved his gaze from the bottom of the ranking list, his gaze froze at a certain name on the 2,945th place.
Shining softly at that spot was the name ‘Huwang Xiao’.
‘Huwang Xiao?!’
A breath was stuck in his chest; Wang Hong rubbed his eyes with disbelief, was this another hallucination?
He widened his eyes to look at the same spot after rubbing his eyes—it was still Huwang Xiao’s name!
This time, however, he did not shout or scream, but rubbed his eyes again in case he was seeing things. When he looked again at the 2,945th place, it was a disciple named Lin Xin.
Looking at this name, Wang Hong breathed out in relief, surmising that what he saw earlier was a hallucination, a mistake. Fortunately, he did not yell and make a commotion or he would suffer another bout of scolding from Ceng Chu and the rest.
Barely after a second of relief, Wang Hong’s eyes seemed to freeze in a widened state as he caught sight of Huwang Xiao’s name at the 2,931st place!
2,931st!
Leaping up fourteen places!
Could it be that just now… wasn’t a hallucination?
In the next moment, Wang Hong saw Huwang Xiao’s name flicker and climbing up again, stopping at the 2,912th place!
2,912th!
Before long, Huwang Xiao’s name once again shot up, this time rising all the way to the 2,873rd place!
Wang Hong looked like he saw a ghost, his eyes protruding from their sockets, his breathing ragged, even his limbs seemed to quiver as he shook his head in denial, shrieking, “No, impossible, this cannot be true, definitely impossible!!”
Wang Hong’s sharp shriek made the rest of the Azure Dragon Institute members turn to look at him.
There was a frown on Qin Yi’s forehead as he demanded in a sullen voice. “What’s impossible? I’ve already told you many times, with that Huwang Xiao’s strength, it’s impossible for him to show up in the top three thousand!”
Wang Hong ignored the dissatisfaction on Qin Yi’s face, pointing at the ranking list, his voice shaking, “N-no, it-it’s Huwang Xiao, Huwang Xiao!”
Qin Yi, Ceng Chu, and the others looked at the ranking list’s 2,873rd spot out of curiosity. However, Huwang Xiao’s name glimmered at this moment, jumping a great distance forward from 2,873 to the 2,412th place.
Hence, when Qin Yi, Ceng Chu, and the rest looked at the 2,873rd position on the ranking list, they did not see Huwang Xiao’s name.
Ceng Chu couldn’t hold back from ridiculing Wang Hong, “I think you’ve been hoping for that Huwang Xiao to appear on the list day and night that you've started hallucinating, seeing things that aren't there!”
Qin Yi’s expression turned cold, deciding to examine this Wang Hong in detail once they returned to the Azure Dragon Institute.
Wang Hong continued to point at the ranking list, ignoring Ceng Hu’s ridicule, stuttering in his words, “Huwang, Huwang Xiao, so fast!!”
So fast?
Qin Yi, Ceng Chu, and the others once again looked at the ranking list. Finally, this time, they saw Huwang Xiao’s name! And they stiffened in place.
Was it really that Huwang Xiao?!
Ceng Chu and several other Grand Elders rubbed their eyes, just like Wang Hong did before, and looked again at the ranking list. Huwang Xiao’s name was still on the 2,264th spot!
In the next moment, his name glimmered brightly. When it reappeared, it was at the 2,125th place!
Qin Yi, Ceng Chu, and the others finally understood what Wang Hong meant by ‘so fast’. Huwang Xiao was rising through the list very quickly.
“He’s already entered the 1,900!” Wang Hong shrieked again, his jaw dropping.
This time, neither Qin Yi nor Ceng Chu criticized or snapped at Wang Hong.
Qin Yi stared at Huwang Xiao’s name rising like an arrow up the ranking list, his face darker than muddy water. It seems like he once again underestimated that Huwang Xiao, not only was this little annoying punk still alive, his strength wasn't as weak as he had thought it to be.
Qin Yi remembered that a few days ago Wang Hong told them he saw Huwang Xiao’s name appearing on the ranking list at the 3,000th place. Now, though, it was clear that Wang Hong did not see wrong at that time, nor was it a hallucination.
‘It was true!’
“I really didn’t think Huwang Xiao has such ability. It seems he has concealed his cultivation realm, perhaps he has also broken through to the Highgod Realm like Junior Brother.” Ceng Chu spoke in a solemn voice.
At this point, Ceng Chu didn't believe that Huwang Xiao was a mere perfection stage late-Tenth Order God Realm cultivator.
All the disciples who managed to climb up to the top three thousand were late-Second Order Highgod Realm and above. Huwang Xiao couldn't possibly achieve this result with just a God Realm cultivation.
There could only be one explanation, Huwang Xiao had already broken through to the Highgod Realm, but used a secret technique to conceal his real cultivation realm!
“Then again, even if he has advanced to the Highgod Realm, he cannot compete with Junior Brother who has the Azure Dragon Divine Fire. The highest he could reach would be somewhere after the 1,000th place, he has no chance of climbing up the top one thousand!” Ceng Chu snickered, “All ranking numbers lower than 1,000 are irrelevant.”
In this tournament, only the top one thousand disciples would receive rewards.
“It’s exactly as Ceng Chu said, Huwang Xiao has no chance of entering the top one thousand.” An Azure Dragon Institute Grand Elder Fu Yan agreed and added, “Moreover, the current ranking is not set in stone. Who knows, maybe a few days later he’ll fall out of the top two thousand, even fall out from the top three thousand!”
While the Azure Dragon Institute group was cursing Huwang Xiao, in another corner of the Aeon Square, the Yelu Family Patriarch Yelu Chufei and the family’s Grand Elders were paying close attention to the ranking list.
Yelu Chufei’s eyes were glued to Yelu Tianfeng’s name on the 15th spot! He was looking forward to the surprise that their Yelu Family’s brightest star, the most talented genius of their family, could give him by breaking into the top ten!
“Father, Big brother will definitely enter the top ten!” Yelu Tianhao said on the side.
Yelu Chufei nodded.
All of a sudden, a Yelu Family Grand Elder’s expression turned grim, pointing at the 1,087th place, shouting, “Patriarch, look quick, Yelu Xuan…!”
Yelu Chufei and
the other Yelu Family members felt that Grand Elder was acting strangely. When they looked over at the 1,087th spot, Yelu Xuan’s shining name suddenly dimmed and exploded like fireworks in the next second, disappearing permanently from the ranking list!
They were no strangers to this scene. If a participating disciple’s name exploded like that, it meant that disciple had fallen!
In short, dead!
An eerie silence enshrouded the Yelu Family’s group.
Ch.854
Although Yelu Xuan’s talent wasn't as high as Yelu Tianfeng’s, he was still one of Yelu Family’s few precious talents!
With Yelu Xuan’s talent, if he suffered no mishap, he would definitely become one of their Yelu Family’s high-level Highgod Realm masters!
A family’s power, whether it was strong or weak, highly depended on the number of high-level Highgod Realm masters it had!
No doubt, Yelu Xuan’s death was a painful loss for the Yelu Family.
“If Yelu Xuan was killed by lightning beasts, then we can only blame it on his bad fortune.” Yelu Chufei grieved with pain, “However, if I find out he was killed by another disciple, I swear by Heaven’s Law, regardless of who that person is, I will absolutely cut them into a thousand pieces!”
Yelu Chufei’s chilling killing intent caused those standing nearby to retreat in apprehension.
Then, the same Yelu Family Grand Elder pointed at the ranking list again, his face paled considerably: “Yelu Yu, he’s...!”
Everyone who heard him was stunned, could it be…?
Yelu Chufei and the other members of Yelu Family turned anxiously toward the ranking list, at the 1,623rd place.
Right when their gazes fell on Yelu Yu’s name, his name dimmed and exploded like fireworks, erased from the ranking list!
Another one!
Dead!
Yelu Chufei clenched his fists so hard that his nails were digging into his palms, his killing intent soared.
“Yelu Xin!” The same Yelu Family Grand Elder shrieked again, louder this time.
Hearing that Grand Elder shrieking Yelu Xin’s name, Yelu Chufei and other Yelu Family members felt their hearts tighten. Yelu Xin’s talent was slightly higher than Yelu Xuan’s, he was one of the three Yelu Family disciples within the top one thousand on the ranking list.
‘Please…’
However, they watched as Yelu Xin’s name slowly dimmed and exploded with hearts filled with pain, apprehension, and disbelief, disappearing from the ranking list just like Yelu Xuan and Yelu Yu’s name. Yelu Xin’s name was removed from the 921st place.
“Who? Who is it?!’ Yelu Chufei’s eyes turned scarlet, his voice reverberated in the air akin to a mighty fierce beast about to go berserk. The rest of the Yelu Family had a similar expression on their faces.
Subsequently, they saw Yelu Bi’s name, another disciple comparable to Yelu Xuan, ranked 1,063rd, explode and disappear like the previous ones.
After Yelu Bi, the names of Yelu Family disciples ranked between one and two thousand exploded one by one.
Every time a Yelu Family disciple’s name exploded like dazzling fireworks, the killing intent exuded by the Yelu Family members on the square grew thicker, almost solidifying. Each one of them looked like they were on the verge of killing someone, anyone.
Black-colored hail began falling down around the Yelu Family members.
Watching this, the surrounding cultivators retreated further away.
The Yelu Family’s thick killing intent attracted the attention of Wangu Shuo and the other eleven Wangu Clan Elders above the square.
“That is the Saint Lord Galaxy’s Yelu Family Patriarch, Yelu Chufei? The Yelu Family’s not doing too bad with a genius like Yelu Tianfeng.” Wangu Shuo said.
“Eh? If I remember correctly, the Yelu Family had eleven disciples within the top three thousand, right? Why are there only Yelu Tianfeng and Yelu Wei now? Did the others…” Wangu Changqing spoke with surprise.
“I only noticed now when you brought it up, have the other Yelu Family disciples died under the hands of lightning beasts? Or maybe they were killed by other participants?” Another Wangu Clan Elder, Wangu Yuan sighed.
“If they were killed by other disciples, who could it be? Being able to kill the Yelu Family’s nine disciples, they should at least have the strength of a mid-Third Order Highgod Realm!” said Wangu Shuo.
In the distance, the Azure Dragon Institute was still staring fixedly at Huwang Xiao’s name as it continued to move up the rankings.
By this time, Huwang Xiao had risen up all the way to the 1,006th place.
‘1,006th place, there are only six more ranks and he’ll be in the top one thousand!’
Earlier, these Azure Dragon Institute people had convinced themselves that Hang Xiao wouldn't be able to enter top one thousand, yet now, watching his ranking getting ever closer to the top one thousand, the Azure Dragon Institute members were shrouded in a heavy silence. Not one person made a sound. The skin of their faces was stretched taut due to nervousness.
Ceng Chu’s insides were tightly twisted while his heart was chanting ‘don’t break through, don’t break through, don’t break through’. In response to the prayers in Ceng Chu’s heart, Huwang Xiao’s name flickered. When it appeared, it was at the 983rd position.
As if every last strand of vitality was sucked out of him, Ceng Chu’s eyes dimmed. Huwang Xiao broke into the top one thousand!
Looking at Huwang Xiao rank jumping up all the way to the 983rd place, Qin Yi felt like someone struck his chest.
“The current ranking cannot prove anything.” Ceng Chu forced a smile saying, “Soon, that Huwang Xiao will definitely fall out of the top one thousand.” However, his voice had lost much confidence.
“That’s right, that’s right, the moment he runs into Vice-Principal Xiang Mingzhi is when he dies. He’ll die in the hands of Vice-Principal Xiang Mingzhi, forever disappearing from the ranking list!” An elderly Grand Elder insisted.
Qin Yi did not say a word.
At the same time, in the Surging Waves Mansion, Liu Yun was inquiring from Feng Yang, “Master, it’s been ten days, are we going to the square to check the ranking list?”
Feng Yang sighed and shook his head, “We should wait for another month before we have a look.”
There would only be another disappointment if they went now, not to mention the Azure Dragon Institute group’s endless mockery.
Hearing their Master’s answer, Liu Yun and Qin Wen silently sighed.
In the Overflowing Lightning World, Huwang Xiao pulled out his halberd from the last Yelu Family disciple’s skull.
A strong stench of blood lingered in the air.
Looking at the sixteen corpses littered on the ground, Huwang Xiao flicked out a sliver of his true immortal essence fire, burning everything to ashes. Sixteen godheads were added into his Asura Ring, and then he checked his jade token.
“971st.” This was his current ranking.
A moment later, Huwang Xiao retrieved his divine sense, vanishing into the palace in a flicker.
In a garden of the palace, Huwang Xiao found a spiritual tree. Amongst its lush green leaves were two shiny, golden fruits, enshrouded in golden-colored lightning. Each of the fruits was as big as one of his fists. The tantalizing fragrance he smelled earlier came from these two golden fruits, which were undoubtedly three-million-years-old and above.
‘This is good stuff!’
Not wasting time, Huwang Xiao uprooted the fruit tree and put it in a corner of his Asura Ring. He then went to check other places of the palace before leaving, continuing further into the city.
Soon, a month went by.
Although Huwang Xiao’s progress slowed a little compared to before, he still inched up to 922nd place.
Despite his progress, Huwang Xiao was feeling somewhat surly, he had yet to sense Xiang Mingzhi’s location.
“I heard an Azure Dragon Galaxy disciple found a medicinal herb that is at least three-mil
lion-years-old in a valley!” Out of nowhere, a voice reached Huwang Xiao’s ears.
“A three-million-years-old herb! What are we waiting for, let’s hurry over!”
Huwang Xiao’s heart skipped a beat hearing these two disciples’ conversation. An Azure Dragon Galaxy disciple? Could it be Xiang Mingzhi?! Only a handful of disciples from the Azure Dragon Galaxy qualified to participate in the tournament, the probability of that disciple being Xiang Mingzhi was very high!
Ch.855
When the two disciples were about to leave in a hurry, a black-haired young man suddenly appeared, blocking their path.
“The Azure Dragon Galaxy disciple these two brothers mentioned just now, I’d like to hear more about it.” said Huwang Xiao.
Those two disciples’ cultivation was at late-First Order Highgod Realm, suddenly having their path blocked by a God Realm cultivator naturally caused them to be extremely annoyed. Now, hearing that the black-haired young man’s reason for blocking their path was because of that Azure Dragon Galaxy disciple, their anger erupted.
A God Realm disciple dared to stop them and ask for news?!
“Brat, even if we know about that Azure Dragon Galaxy disciple, why should we tell you anything?” One of the two chuckled with ill-will.
“Do you know how precious our time is? A measly God Realm disciple like is only worth as much as a dog’s life, that’s even less than one second of our time!” The other disciple sneered, “How do you want to die now?” His divine might crashed toward Huwang Xiao like a giant wave: “Get on your knees!”
Huwang Xiao waved his hands without a word, an invisible force pulled the two disciples toward him.
When the two disciples saw that a mere God Realm disciple dared to attack them, they were enraged.
‘This brat is truly seeking death!’
However, in the next moment, the two were petrified to find that they were unable to move, as if their surrounding space froze, locking them!